A Malaysian court has convicted former Prime Minister Najib Razak of abuse of power and money laundering in another major financial scandal.
According to the international news agency, the decision was made in a case of misappropriation of state investment funds in which billions of ringgit were embezzled.
The court ruling said that 72-year-old Najib Razak was found guilty of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering.
The court, while giving the verdict, said that the former prime minister had illegally obtained about 2.3 billion Malaysian ringgit, which is about 569 million US dollars according to the official exchange rate at that time, from state funds.
The decision came after a seven-year court proceeding, while the sentence in this case will also be announced later.
The prosecution recorded the statements of 76 witnesses in this case.
It should be remembered that Najib Razak has been in prison since 2022. A few days ago, the court also rejected the former prime minister’s request to be allowed to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.
A section of the former prime minister’s supporters still call him a target of political vendetta and call the decisions unfair.
Even at the time of this court decision, dozens of people gathered outside the court and chanted slogans in his favor.
History of the OneMDB scandal
The OneMalaysia Development Berhad scandal came to light about a decade ago and soon became one of the world’s biggest financial scandals.
According to the investigation, about 4.5 billion US dollars were withdrawn from this state-owned investment fund and transferred to private accounts.
Big names emerged not only in Malaysia but also internationally in this case, including banking institutions and Hollywood-related personalities.
The prosecution had claimed that a large part of this money was also transferred to Najib Razak’s personal bank accounts.
On which Najib Razak’s position has been that he was misled by advisers and did not provide complete information, but the courts did not accept this position.
In 2020, Najib Razak was found guilty of abuse of power, money laundering and breach of trust in another case.
This case related to the transfer of 42 million ringgit from an entity called SRC International, a subsidiary of 1MDB. In this case, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison, which was later reduced.
The current case concerns a much larger amount that came into his personal account in 2013.
Najib Razak had argued in court that the money was a donation from the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, but the judge rejected this claim.
The fall of Najib Razak’s government
The 1MDB scandal had a profound impact on the country’s politics, and the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition led by Najib Razak suffered a historic defeat in the 2018 general election.
The coalition had been in power continuously since Malaysia’s independence in 1957. The defeat not only ended Najib’s government but also marked a new turning point in the country’s political history.
Subsequent governments have raised slogans of accountability and transparency, but critics say institutional reforms against corruption are still insufficient.
Najib Razak’s wife was also sentenced to ten years in prison in a bribery case in 2022, but she has been released on bail on appeal.